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Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

macrumors.com

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Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#611

Post by asadotzler »

selectodude wrote: post #413
EraYaN wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple has so much stuff and money in the EU, that there will be plenty to take. Only recently have the started to take back some of the funds from Ireland. Apple would be in a pretty bad place if those accounts were all seized, not in the last place because it would block all transactions including customer ones, ones to may for servers, rent etc. Apple might look stupid but they aren't that stupid.

The EU won’t even seize Russia’s assets. You think they’ll start a shitstorm with the united states?

[flagged]

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#612

Post by yard2010 »

rsynnott wrote: post #112
MatthiasPortzel wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before this, if you had an alternative marketplace, you had to accept submissions from other developers. You are still allowed to accept submissions from other developers, but are no longer required to.

I suppose the point is that, if we're being pedantic (and after all, that is what the internet is _for_), you cannot have a single vendor marketplace based on the commonly understood meaning of the word 'marketplace'. (But yeah, this is just slightly silly naming from Apple).

Are you demonstrating Cunningham's law because the internet is for porn

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#613

Post by carlosjobim »

sevagh wrote: post #535
carlosjobim wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are so many things the company could do to regain geek-cred. But why do geeks have to destroy everything for everyone else, just for the benefit of their hobbies? Isn't Linux and Android enough and everything else hardware wise and software wise that isn't Apple? Apple devices work great for people who want to get stuff done in the real world and are willing to pay developers for great software. Why does that…

What fake world do I live?

Everything on the computer is fake, it's just ones and zeros. It means nothing until it interfaces with the real world. Geeks like to make computers and other devices operate with no real meaning, for their own amusement. But that can and will get in the way for people wanting to use their devices as tools for real world tasks.

You can make the same comparison for any machine. If your hobby is off-roading or dirt biking, you might want to be able to adjust fuel injection exactly as you see fit. But making every car or motorcycle owner have to adjust their gas/air mixture is not what normal people want. They want a safe vehicle that they can rely on for their commute.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#614

Post by deergomoo »

BenFranklin100 wrote: post #600
gigatexal wrote: post #521

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno. Do you really fault Apple for wanting to hold onto their vice grip of the AppStore that gives them license to print money at ridiculous margins? I mean, their better angels would have them be so confident in the value of their own store that they'd allow other stores to compete on the merits but honestly ... if we were Tim Cook or in charge of Apple I think we'd all fight tooth-and-nail to keep this cash cow…

The benefit of the app store isn’t money. It’s the security of the ecosystem. 3rd party apps will begin a race to the bottom of fly-by-night iOS developers in it for a fast buck with no qualms about advertising and data trafficking. Before long we end up with what is seen in the Android system.

I mean...is the situation on Android you describe anything to do with third-party app stores and sideloading? Because my understanding was that, despite there being very few hoops to jump through, the only time the vast majority of users even consider stepping out of the Play Store is to install apps to let them stream pirated movies.

Moreover, Apple's App Store is already filled with race-to-the-bottom, shady shit. Apps with bait weekly subscriptions and bald-faced knock-offs are highlighted in tech news and on social media all the time. That's what makes their attitude and arguments all the more galling here: they are doing a really lousy job keeping their own store a safe and reputable place.

The only thing they seem to do a good job with is legitimate malware, and I suspect that's mostly because the OS is so locked down and because they scan for use of non-public APIs.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#615

Post by trompetenaccoun »

zeta0134 wrote: post #581
hellcow wrote: post #195

This is likely my last iPhone. Apple’s behavior in opposing their own customers is unacceptable. I’ll switch to a Pixel running GrapheneOS, where I can run “real Firefox” and any other software I choose.

The inability to run a real web browser (with extensions!) has been holding me back on the switch to iOS for a long time now. Reviewing Apple's behavior in the EU, I'm not really expecting that to change any time soon. Android is annoying in a lot of its own ways, but at the very least I can run whatever software I want on the thing, and that's too valuable to give up.

What's also really annoying is that copying non-image files to your phone is extremely limited. Apple's hardware is amazing and iOS is generally good and well maintained, but all these little ways they dictate what you can do with your own device make it unbearable.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#616

Post by bee_rider »

fxtentacle wrote: post #486
paulmd wrote: post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The user has paid for the device and the operating system, the developer has paid for the developer account, so I am really interested to see how Apple justifies that fee in a court of law. pretty much the same way nintendo or sony or microsoft justify it, I'd think. it's pretty much exactly the same thing as windows S edition, or a console - you paid for the laptop, the developer paid to get notarization to releas…

In the EU, the spirit of the laws is what counts in court, not the letter of the law. That means it's a lot easier to understand things if you start with the intended consequences: Can you have a normal life without Xbox S or PS5? Yes => no need to regulate here Can you have a normal life without iOS or Android? No => it's an essential utility => let's regulate this

“The spirit of the law thing” is something I’ve seen repeated WRT the EU, but it seems like a really bizarre way to run anything important. The law obviously can’t tell us what its spirit is beyond what the letter is.

We can guess what legislators want… I guess a lawyer must have come up with this idea, because inconsistent guesses are going to give them lots of extra business.

Maybe it would be better to annotate laws with what their spirit is, so we don’t have to guess. In fact, just write that down instead of the apparently non-functional letter of the law.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#617

Post by j4hdufd8 »

BenFranklin100 wrote: post #600
gigatexal wrote: post #521

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno. Do you really fault Apple for wanting to hold onto their vice grip of the AppStore that gives them license to print money at ridiculous margins? I mean, their better angels would have them be so confident in the value of their own store that they'd allow other stores to compete on the merits but honestly ... if we were Tim Cook or in charge of Apple I think we'd all fight tooth-and-nail to keep this cash cow…

The benefit of the app store isn’t money. It’s the security of the ecosystem. 3rd party apps will begin a race to the bottom of fly-by-night iOS developers in it for a fast buck with no qualms about advertising and data trafficking. Before long we end up with what is seen in the Android system.

> Before long we end up with what is seen in the Android system.

Please elaborate what is seen in the Android system.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#618

Post by judge2020 »

I'm willing to make a new phone that only runs code i approve, since iPhones can no longer support this maximum security use case. You must be a journalist or have production access to a F500 company's database (containing PII/PHI) to qualify to purchase the device; I'm sorry if you don't qualify, but I fear the EU might come and force me to break the device security simply if 'too many people' begin to use my device.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#619

Post by vundercind »

cynicalsecurity wrote: post #483
Etheryte wrote: post #84

The terms and conditions for web distribution [0] are concerning to say the least. In short, you have to have at least one million first installs annually on iOS to even qualify, in addition to other terms such as "good standing in the Apple Developer Program for two continuous years or more". I doubt Epic and the like would be considered in good standing as far as Apple is concerned. Also, quote unquote, developers…

These are some cult-like requirements. The term "good standing" comes not from business, it comes directly from the domain of authoritarian-destructive cults.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_standing

It’s possible to criticize Apple without making stuff up. It’s a road traveled by few, but it is there.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#620

Post by judge2020 »

dbbk wrote: post #263
klaustopher wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> provides developers through ongoing investments in the tools, technologies, and services that enable them to build and share innovative apps with users around the world. That's what the 99$ fee for the developer program is for. The 50ct Core Technology Fee is just Apple showing the middle finger to successful developers. I hope the EU goes after this fee first. The whole reason for the DMA is that developers do not…

Yeah this is what I really don't understand. They say they have to be compensated for their R&D work and for providing the APIs and cloud services etc. Okay. ...but the program fee already does that??

I think you'd be hard pressed to take the $99/yr they make from the dev program fee and use it to cover the salaries for the engineers implementing and maintaining all of iOS' developer-facing APIs.
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